Nov. 16, 2001

Final Stats

HOUSTON, Texas - After Friday's second round of the 2001 Healthy Choice Conference USA Volleyball Tournament, one half of the bracket featured higher seeds and one half showcased lower seeds. Unfortunately for the University of Houston, it was in the latter.

DePaul used a consistent offensive team effort throughout the match to take a 3-1 victory over the Cougars on Friday at Hofheinz Pavilion and snap UH's five-year streak of making the C-USA Tournament semifinals. The Blue Demons hit .268 as a team, including a .388 mark in the clinching game, while limiting UH to a dismal .199 percentage.

Senior outside hitter Jennifer Wittenburg, competing in her final match at Hofheinz Pavilion, led the way for UH with 33 kills and 22 digs. It marked the Houston native's sixth straight double-double and her third consecutive match with at least 30 kills.

Jenny Tanneberger added 14 kills with 10 digs and eight blocks, while Jane Anne Karasek blasted 10 kills. On the defensive side, Donna Sellen registered 11 digs while dishing out a match-best 59 assists and Gabi Carbone added 10 digs in the losing effort.

DePaul (22-8) will face regular season champion and No. 1 seed Cincinnati in the second semifinal at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Bearcats, who were an easy 3-0 winner over No. 8 seed Memphis on Friday, collected a 3-1 win over the Cougars in Cincinnati, Ohio, earlier this season.

In earlier action, Marquette registered the biggest upset of the tournament to date with a 3-1 win over No. 3 seed South Florida. The Golden Falcons will face No. 2 seed Louisville in the first semifinal match of the day at 1 p.m. Saturday as UL posted a 3-1 win over No. 7 seed Saint Louis.

Tickets are still available for the tournament. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for children while tournament booklets are $15 for adults and $10 for children.

The Cougars led early in the match after winning game one 30-26 but would tally 25 hitting errors during the final three games to bow out the to Demons, exactly one week after winning by a similar score in Houston.

Four Blue Demons posted double-digit kills with Christa Dirr coming off the bench to tally a team-best 16 kills. Stephanie Bishop added 15 kills and a match-best 28 digs, while Melissa Nordine collected 14 kills and 11 digs.